


Pretty People make for Pretty Faces

by NymphadoraTheTemplar



Category: Magic Kaito
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Makeup, Mentions of Cancer, and i like the idea of both of them knowing the pain of losing a parent, because cancer is my favourite way to explain a lack of Saguru's mum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NymphadoraTheTemplar/pseuds/NymphadoraTheTemplar
Summary: Hakuba Saguru and Kuroba Kaito, featuring a little “my boyfriend does my makeup challenge” except they’re technically not boyfriends...but maybe they could be
Relationships: Hakuba Saguru/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Comments: 7
Kudos: 54





	Pretty People make for Pretty Faces

**Author's Note:**

> For Amber  
> 「makeup」  
> Thank you Amber for mentioning makeup and inspiring this story.
> 
> And since it is officially the 29th in Japan, this is dedicated to the birthday boy Hakuba Saguru

“Does she seriously think that looks good on her or is she celebrating Halloween a little early?”   
Saguru glanced over to see a look of distaste on Kuroba’s face as he watched the woman currently on the screen in front of them. Kuroba usually spends these documentary nights at Saguru’s place in silence, taking in everything with those focused eyes of his, except for moments like this one where Kuroba will let a thought or two of his be known. Although Saguru could understand why this would be one of those moments as he had also been questioning the woman’s choice of makeup.  
Kuroba opened his mouth to continue, “The contouring is so heavy she looks more like a skull and that eyeshadow and blush is too bright for her outfit.” Kuroba’s expression shifted into one that was more bored, “She might as well add more decorative lines and colours to complete the sugar skull look.”

Saguru saw an opportunity,“I didn’t realise you were so knowledgeable about makeup Kuroba.” The detective raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at Kuroba, “Might it be due to you requiring the knowledge for some kind of pastime of yours?”

But rather than get annoyed and deny whatever it may be that Saguru was implying, as he expected, Kuroba instead made a small snort sound, “Didn’t take you for the roundabout sort of guy, you seem to be the type that likes to get straight to the point.” He finally turned from the television to give Saguru a look of amusement, “If you wanted to see me dress in drag, you could have just asked.”

They both knew Saguru was implying Kuroba’s activities as KID but he had to admit that was a clever way to answer the inquiry.   
After the annoyed frown Kuroba receives, he doesn’t push the joke any farther and instead turns back towards the television with a shrug, “My mom taught me alongside Aoko how to apply makeup since Aoko didn’t really have a motherly figure around to teach her, and she was embarrassed about taking makeup lessons alone while only in middle school.” A small smile formed on Kuroba’s face at the memory, “And as you’ve seen, Aoko is still too embarrassed to wear makeup to school but she does have fun putting some on at home and dressing up in front of the mirror.”

Saguru smiled as well, “I would like to see what Aoko-san looks like with makeup. I’m sure she’s even more beautiful.”

Kuroba nodded, “She’s pretty good at doing her own makeup but if she would just let me do it for her, I’m sure she would like the results.”

Saguru thought about it, “Aoko-san does have a nice face, it would be enjoyable to apply makeup to it.”

Kuroba gave him a curious look, “You like to apply makeup?”

Saguru nodded with a small smile, “I know a thing or two about makeup.”

Kuroba’s eyes slightly narrowed at the statement, “Oh? Really?”

“Indeed, I may be even better than you.” Saguru could feel his small smile sharpen into a smirk.

And there was that spark in those blue eyes that Saguru had grown to enjoy, “Then let’s take turns doing Aoko’s makeup tomorrow and whomever’s she likes better shall be declared the better makeup artist.”

“Why wait? I have the supplies, let’s do each other’s makeup right now.”

“I thought this was to see who was better at makeup, wouldn’t prettying up a girl’s face be the usual way to test that?”

“Wouldn’t it be a true test of our abilities, to see if we could make a guy’s face look as pretty as a girl’s?” Although if that were really the case, perhaps Saguru would admit he may have an advantage given the already pretty canvas he’d be working with...but Kuroba certainly didn’t need to know he thought that.

Those intense blue eyes were locked onto Saguru’s face as they considered his words, “Alright fine. You’re on.” Kuroba never was one to step down from a challenge. It was one of the things the detective had found himself liking about the magician.   
  
The documentary was turned off and forgotten. Similar to the woman’s makeup choice, it wasn’t the best they’d seen, being poorly directed and filmed anyways.

Kuroba said that he would go first since he was the one to bring up the challenge. He began with brushing back the blond bangs and pinned them in place with a large hair clip. The feel of Kuroba’s fingers against his forehead weren’t cold but cooler than Saguru expected, the contrast in temperature felt nice and brushed his skin with a quick and gentle touch, indicative of the magician’s adept control of his hands. Saguru also didn’t expect those cool fingers to suddenly be cupping either side of his face as Kuroba brought his face in close and gently turned Saguru’s face from side to side, up and down, inspecting it. 

As suddenly as he grabbed Saguru’s face, Kuroba let it go and looked over the large assortment of makeup and supplies laid out on the large dining table while Saguru sat in a chair with his back towards the table and supplies. They had decided to do this in a room without mirrors to keep the makeup a surprise until it was finished.

Kuroba thought about which products he would use, “How am I not surprised that you have a large collection of expensive makeup that you just keep in one of your fancy bathrooms fitted with full length mirrors?”

“Are you jealous? Thinking about how useful some of this stuff would be for disguises?”

Kuroba maintained his nonchalant expression as he reached over to fiddle with some supplies, “Of course not. I don’t have any need for disguises afterall.” Kuroba showed a container of one of the more expensive name brands in front of Saguru, “I was thinking about how Aoko would love to get her hands on some of this, it’s high quality stuff.”

“Her birthday is next month isn’t it? I will keep that in mind for a gift.”

“Yeah, she’d love that and some of this hand cream of the same collection.”

“Thank you Kuroba.”

“Whatever, not like I said it to help you. You thought of that yourself.” Kuroba straightened up from where he had been leaning over the table, placing his hands on his hips, “Enough chit chat, I’ve got the perfect look in mind for your face.”   
Should Saguru be worried about that smile? He was suddenly having second thoughts about suggesting they work on each other’s makeup but it was too late to back out now.   
  
But maybe after getting to watch up close the look full of concentration and care as Kuroba focused on first applying what felt like foundation and then some eyeliner, it was worth whatever Kuroba may be planning. 

It seemed Kuroba had finished applying the foundation and eyeliner, “Close your eyes.” 

Saguru complied and then slightly frowned at the feeling of even more of the cool cosmetic being gently massaged onto his face, “Are you sure you’re not using too much foundation and highlighter?” 

Kuroba clicked his tongue, “Have a little faith in me, I know what I’m doing”

“That’s what I’m afraid of given your expressive dislike of me in the past.”

“That’s only when you insist on me being KID. We get along enough to hang out watching movies and documentaries almost every week don’t we?”

Saguru replied with an ambiguous hum.

Eventually Saguru feels something being brushed onto his lips then Kuroba declares, “There we go, all done!”

Saguru opens his eyes as Kuroba grabs the hand mirror and holds it towards Saguru so he can see his face.

When Saguru gets to see the result of Kuroba's work on his face, he immediately glares at Kuroba with a flat look upon seeing the [geisha style makeup](https://kyotokimono-rental.com/en/column/geisha-makeup.html) in his reflection. He was right to feel wary at Kuroba’s expression earlier. That also explains why Kuroba was applying it with a paint like brush and cleverly moving it just out of Saguru’s sight, to hide the colours he was using.

While there is laughter dancing in those blue eyes, Kuroba is also giving him an eager look, “Oh come on, you hardly even looked, go on.” He holds the mirror out a little closer towards him.

Saguru complies, taking the mirror into his own hand and takes a closer look at Kuroba’s work. The detective sees that along with the pale white makeup that coated his entire face like a mask, Kuroba did also apply some matching contour in a way to soften his cheekbones and slim his cheeks to a more feminine look. The application of the rouge lipstick and matching eye and brow makeup was smooth, drawn with precision and highlighted these features just right on his face. The choice of style was questionable, but Kuroba did apply the makeup professionally and with care.

“While I would have preferred a different style, I must admit that you have professionally applied the style that you chose and have done a rather good job of making my face ready for any festive or ceremonial performance.”

Kuroba snickered, “You’ve definitely entertained me this evening.”   
  


Now it was Kuroba’s turn to take a seat while Saguru showed off his makeup skills.

While Saguru was somewhat tempted to return the favour for Kuroba’s face, he wasn’t as practiced in that style of makeup, although he’d be able to do a decent job. Rather he wanted more to demonstrate the style he was best at and really highlight the beauty in Kuroba’s face.  
Whether this was due to wanting to win this little challenge or to just be able to see Kuroba’s face with pretty makeup...Saguru didn’t need to settle on an answer, he just needed to focus on applying the makeup.

As he worked on Kuroba’s makeup, Saguru thought about what Kuroba had said about them spending an evening together just about every week and was beginning to realise how comfortable he has become being around the magician. He probably should have realised it as soon as they started having the regular movie or documentary nights at his place. Saguru knew he had started to like Kuroba as a friend but he now realised he had grown to really enjoy Kuroba’s company. The detective still thought of Kuroba as the challenging KID, but now he thought of Kuroba as a good friend as well. He had probably even begun to like him as something more.   
  
But enough of those thoughts, now all that was left was to apply the final touch, some lipstick to make those soft lips pop with a burst of colour among the rest of the neutral toned face.   
Saguru thought about selecting one of the many shades of red lipstick he had but decided to use the same paint like brush and rouge colour that Kuroba had chosen for Saguru’s makeup. It was a beautiful colour that looked pretty on the lips after all.

Saguru placed one hand on Kuroba’s shoulder as he leaned in close with the brush and painted the lips in front of him. It was a good thing Kuroba still had his eyes closed from when Saguru did the eyeshadow, as he wasn’t sure what might slip through on his face being this close to Kuroba’s face after that small realisation.

Then he straightened with a satisfied smile, “Alright, that should do.”  Saguru passed the hand mirror to Kuroba when he opened his eyes.

Kuroba examined his face in the mirror and his eyes widened a little in surprise before he quickly regained a calm look, “Hmm, not bad. You are actually pretty good at this.”   
His gaze moved from the mirror to look at Saguru’s face again, “I almost feel bad for not applying a more natural style to your face.” His thoughtful gaze turned into amusement with a delicate upturn of his rouge lips, “But not quite, you do make a lovely geisha, I’d say some of my best work.”

Saguru couldn’t help the small blush he felt colouring his face upon seeing the amused smile of a Kuroba wearing pretty makeup. He was suddenly grateful for the white that covered his face at the moment as the colour of his cheeks shouldn’t be visible right now.

Standing up, setting the hand mirror aside and whipping out his phone, Kuroba was suddenly by Saguru’s side, “We gotta take a pic together to commemorate.”   
After taking a few photos Kuroba started doing something on his phone, probably sending them to Aoko. “I was wondering, I told you when I learned makeup, but what about you?”

“Back when my mother was still alive, during her last year being stuck in a bed for a majority of her time due to her cancer, one of the things she wanted to do was still put on makeup and dress as she normally would for leaving the house. But it was becoming a struggle for her to properly apply the makeup so she taught me how and I would help her.”

Kuroba didn’t seem surprised or act taken aback or look at Saguru with a pitying look upon hearing this. He simply looked up from his phone and nodded in understanding, “I see.”

Yes, Kuroba really was different from everyone else and he seemed to be able to understand Saguru better than anyone he’d met before.   
Maybe it was because Kuroba understood the pain of losing a parent but Saguru felt that it was also because Kuroba could read Saguru as well as he could read Kuroba. It is what one naturally does when one is always trying to outwit one’s rival.   
  
They make quick work of putting away the supplies in the bathroom cabinets then Saguru begins to wash off the makeup while Kuroba takes a few mirror selfies of Saguru’s work. And no, Saguru is not pleased that Kuroba liked it enough to take some more photos.  
Well alright, maybe he’s a little pleased.

He’s looking at his phone probably seeing if the pictures he just took were what he wanted when he speaks up, “Did we just do one of those ‘My boyfriend does my makeup’ challenges?”

“I suppose you could say that, except for the fact that we aren’t boyfriends.” Although Saguru is now aware that he probably wants to be.

“We could be if you want.”

What did Kuroba just say?

Saguru suddenly straightens up from where he had been bent over the sink, staring at the boy who was still idly looking at his phone.

Kuroba glances up, “Oi wipe the water off your face before you start dripping it everywhere.” He slips his phone into his pocket to grab one of the hand towels and starts gently wiping the water off Saguru’s skin.

But Saguru is still staring at Kuroba trying to process if he really heard the other say that.   
And Kuroba notices his staring, pausing in his motions to suddenly lock eyes with Saguru.   


The towel is suddenly shoved in Saguru’s face, blocking his vision,  “Stop staring at me and wipe it off yourself.” 

The pressure against his mouth and nose is released and the fluffy towel falls into Saguru’s hands. He finishes drying off his face but he also caught a glimpse of the light blush on Kuroba’s face before he turned away to once again look at his phone.

What was Saguru thinking, some detective he was, he didn’t probably want to, he now knew for sure, “I want to.”

Kuroba turns back towards Saguru upon hearing those words, “What?”

Saguru hangs the hand towel back on the rack, “I said I want to.” He takes a breath and properly looks at Kuroba, “I want to be your boyfriend.”

Kuroba continues to stare at him then suddenly reaches forward to remove the large hair clip, finally freeing the blond bangs they pinned back. He looks at the clip that he fiddles with in one hand as he uses his other to ruffle Saguru’s hair, “That works for me.”

Kuroba removes his hand, which Saguru finds himself already missing the touch of, and turns away to put the clip away in the drawer they got it from. Saguru watches his back and shoulders move as Kuroba takes a slow and deep breath as he’s seen Kuroba do before to calm himself. When Kuroba turns back around to face him, there’s a grin on his pretty face, “From now on we’re boyfriends.”   


Saguru grins back at those words.

Kuroba steps in close, grin turning more into a pleased smirk, “So what will my prize be for winning?”

Saguru raised an incredulous eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

“Clearly I’m the better makeup artist with my professional application of the traditional artform makeup.”

“While your technique does show skill, I would argue that my choice of bringing out the unique beauty of your face rather than following a traditional style, indicates a better skill in makeup use.”

Kuroba shrugged with a small shake of his head, “If you’re going to be stubborn about it then I guess I’ll just have to do your makeup again, non-traditional this time.” He took a step even closer to Saguru, now having to tilt his head up at him, “Then you’ll have to admit defeat at my superior range of makeup skills.”

Saguru leaned in to shorten the distance between their faces, “I’d love to see you try.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading
> 
> Happy Birthday Hakuba Saguru ♡


End file.
